LOS ANGELES LOVE: Planning out all the to-dos you want to tackle during a mondo, famous, everyone'll-be-there pride weekend is a merry mixture of absolutely making a note of the singers and guests and sights you want to see and winging it, a little, to go where the wonderful winds might take you. You don't want to realize later that you missed Kesha if Kesha is a your must-see chanteuse, but you don't want to be so tightly locked into your itinerary that the smaller happenings escape your notice. And if you're making for West Hollywood from Friday, June 12 through Sunday, June 14, you know that you'll be joining over a half million other revelers looking to honor community, diversity, family-awesomeness, friendships, and LGBT issues through knowledge, togetherness, and all-out good times. But don't let the idea of wading into a happy sea of 500,000 partiers daunt your roll; you can start with booking your last-minute stay, if you haven't lined up a room at a local friend's place. Visit West Hollywood is an excellent beginning point, with links to The London West Hollywood, Andaz West Hollywood, Mondrian, and Ramada Plaza West Hollywood, which is just steps from the Sunday, June 14 parade route. Restaurants and bars in the area are also covered on the comprehensive site.
PRIDE TIMES: As for the at-the-fest, gotta-do-this stuff? Yep, Kesha was mentioned, and she shall be there. Look also for Wilson Phillips, Wrabel, Ty Herndon, and Fifth Harmony. There's the Friday night Lavender Menace, "a celebration of women," and the return of the popular roller boogie rink, where people bring their '70s-style disco moves and outfits. And, yep, the ebullient parade down Santa Monica Boulevard is lively, full of cameos and celebrities and costumes and sheer spectacularness. Is this your year to attend both West Hollywood and San Francisco? Or did you already start in Long Beach with plans to visit San Diego Pride in July? Best plan your pride road trips to wherever the joy is happening, up and down the coast.
